Sunday, 3 April 2016

The Viola

The other day I said some things that might be
misinterpreted as derogatory towards that lovely instrument the viola. In many
ways the Cinderella among stringed instruments, it has very few well-known solo
works in its repertoire: the best known are Berlioz’s ‘Harold in Italy’ and the
concerto by William Walton.

I don’t know if it was a guilty conscience that prompted me,
but today I listened to Mozart’s ‘Sinfonia Concertante’ — actually a concerto
for violin and viola, demanding a greater rapport between the two solo
instruments than in an extended operatic duet — twice; once after breakfast and
once after dinner. I’m afraid that as it was on my watch-sized MP3 player I no
longer know whose recording it was, but it was a very good one.

The work shows the viola at its best. I said viola players
are odd: perhaps they are, but perhaps their oddity consists in an
unfashionable humility; a lack of the desire to be the big solo star; a
willingness to co-operate with other players and not try to outshine them. Perhaps
it’s viola players who really hold string quartets - the single malts of serious music - together.

Or perhaps it’s just that the Sinfonia Concertante is one of
Mozart’s greatest orchestral works. Anyway, anyone who ever felt or said
anything ‘witty’ about the viola (the difference between it and the violin is
that it takes slightly longer to burn) should listen — twice a day — to this
work.